Nipmucs identify property for community center

WEST BROOKFIELD — When David "Tall Pine" White looks at the forested 42 acres at Birch Hill and Shea roads he sees a promising future for the Nipmuc Nation.

If anything, the failed two-decade attempt by the Nipmucs to win federal tribal recognition puts the current search for a permanent tribal community center into perspective.

The U.S. Department of the Interior issued a formal denial in 2004.

"It was frustrating, but it was a learning experience," said Mr. White of the impetus behind the creation of Nipmuk Cultural Preservation Inc. and the two-year search for a suitable piece of land.

With the East Quabbin Land Trust as a partner, a master plan for the property drawn up by the Conway School of Landscape Design and a blueprint for a community center created by architectural students at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, there is one significant hurdle left.

The tribe has until the end of December to raise $200,000.

Cynthia Henshaw, executive director of the East Quabbin Land Trust explained that an extension of a purchase-and-sale agreement with the McRevey Family Trust expires Dec. 31.

Mr. White said the trust is selling the parcel for $150,000 and the balance represents costs related to the site as well as securing federal 501c3 nonprofit status.

With a traditional round design, the structure would be a year-round building for tribal events, programs and classes. It would also include office space and archival storage of the tribe's records.

"One of the things we are lacking right now is a secure storage space for tribal records," he said.

Mr. White said there are plans for future programs on Native American culture and history for visiting school groups. The site would also be used for powwows.

"This project came about as a result of keeping our eyes open the past decade for a piece of land. Bob O'Connor at the state Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs called our attention to this land owned by the McRevey Family Trust," Mr. White said.

Aside from the site itself, the family was interested in working with us to establish a tribal center, he added.

The tribe approached the Conway School of Landscape Design in the spring of 2013 to survey the property and determine its suitability for tribal needs.

"They did soil tests to see if the land would meet our agricultural needs. They also looked at the wetlands on the site and the topography for the best place to locate an environmentally green building," he said.

Mr. White said the East Quabbin Land Trust got involved because of its prior dealings with the McRevey Family Trust and its interest in seeing the land preserved.

Ms. Henshaw said the land trust learned of the Nipmuc venture through the Massachusetts Land Trust Coalition.

"We had worked with the McRevey Family Trust several years ago preserving 324 acres in West Brookfield. The Division of Fisheries and Wildlife bought the land and created the West Brookfield Wildlife Management Area," she explained.

Ms. Henshaw said the family still owned several parcels that had not been sold, among them the property on Birch Hill Road.

At the same time the trust was talking with the tribe, she said she was approached by a lawyer for the McRevey family who wanted to know if the land trust had any interest in buying any of its remaining tracts.

"We were particularly interested in seeing the 42 acres preserved because it's bounded by state forest," she said.

She said Mr. O'Connor facilitated contacts, discussions, and grant possibilities.

Ms. Henshaw said one of the EEA's Conservation Partnership grant programs helps cities and towns with master planning.

West Brookfield was awarded a grant of $28,250 and that money, along with a contribution from the town and the land trust, covered the cost of a comprehensive study of the property by the Conway School of Landscape Design.

"This was essentially a master plan for the property that confirmed there was enough space on the site for the Nipmuc tribe to do what it was looking to do," Ms. Henshaw said.

The land trust director said a stream crosses the property, and there are a couple of vernal pools and additional wetland taken into account by the Conway study.

Ms. Henshaw said the land trust also was awarded a Conservation Partnership grant that is a small percentage of the money needed to buy the McRevey property.

"That money will support the conservation of the back 20 acres of the property on which the town of West Brookfield will hold a conservation restriction.

She said the land trust would own the 20-acre parcel until the tribe had become a registered 501c3 charity, at which time the tribe would take ownership of the entire parcel.

Mr. White said the tribe's greatest obstacle to date has been raising the money to buy the land.

"Not many foundations will give money to a land conservation project, and the need is that much greater with a deadline approaching," he said, adding the tribe has reached out to other tribes across the country for donations.

If successful, there are things that can be done immediately, even before there is a building, he added.

"We can clear some of the land for agricultural use, and we can add to the trails already there," he said.

Beyond that the tribe would raise money for a tribal center building, Mr. White said.

"Last summer we had students from the UMass Amherst Department of Architecture begin to draw up plans for a building that encompassed all green building practices," he said.

"It's been a long road for us considering our long, unsuccessful bid for federal recognition of the Nipmuc tribe. We learned a lot from the process and since that time we've worked hard to bring the different bands of the tribe back together again," he said.

Mr. White estimated there are 3,000 Nipmucs living within a 50-mile radius of the tribe's original homeland.

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